I'm thinking his "one beer" comment doesn't describe his own drinking habits. A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Wisconsin needs to start locking up at 3rd offense. And claiming their cars for auction to make up some of the outrageous court costs.

In some states, utah for example, if you have a DWI conviction there is a probationary period - that they don't necessarily tell you about - that requires that if you get pulled over, you can't blow ANY alcohol into the breathalyzer.

I know a guy who got himself a DWI, then 10 months later got pulled over immediately after leaving a bar and blew 0.02, and got himself a 2nd DWI.

I don't have much sympathy for drunk drivers, but it seemed a little excessive to me.

The majority of drunken driving arrests in the state (there were 28,213 convictions in 2011) are first-time offenses, and many of those caught the first time have likely driven dozens of other times while intoxicated, said Nina Emerson, director of the Resource Center on Impaired Driving at UW-Madison.

Oh, I'll take exception to this, because when I was drinking I took extra care to not drive drunk. I saw that TV movie int he 80's that MADD sponsored, and I was paranoid about it. What I didn't understand was that you can still be legally drunk the morning after. So I got pulled over going 70 on I-95 at 10am on a Saturday. I blew a 0.08 on the road, but a 0.01 at the station. I was driving home the morning after a bachelor party for a friend and I specifically got a hotel room in DC so I didn't have to drive home drunk. I found out after my arrest that I didn't have to consent to the roadside breath test at all, only the one at the station, but the police don't explain that to you. It's all money to them.

Thankfully, I hadn't ever had so much as a speeding ticket, so they dropped the charges, but that's crazy rare for Virginia. If my story hadn't checked out - the cop that arrested me smugly told me my BAC was going to go up - I'm sure they would have nailed me.

I don't hit the liquor anymore but I buy all of my friends breathalyzers as presents so they can check themselves. It's a good idea. They don't want to drive drunk, but without a tool to let you know, you can make a mistake. The ignition interlock devices work on the same principle, except they don't offer them to people who want to avoid breaking the law.

tukatz:I'm thinking his "one beer" comment doesn't describe his own drinking habits. A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Wisconsin needs to start locking up at 3rd offense. And claiming their cars for auction to make up some of the outrageous court costs.

Yes and no. The problem with mandatory sentencing is always the same. Mitigating circumstances are never taken into account by definition. As a 2 time DUI convict myself, I have to chip in here.

In my case, my first DUI was as a probationary driver - not allowed to have any alcohol in the system at all. In this case, I was stupid. I'd had about a beer and half, and realised that I was about to run out, so I hopped in the car to pick some more up. Bang, random breath test. Bang, I blew 0.04. I knew I wasn't drunk, but nonetheless I accept full responsibility for this one. I was stupid and I paid the price. I lost my licence for 3 months.

Fast forward 2 years later, and I"m back on the road and all is good. I went to my brothers house to have a drink with him, and I knew it was going to be a big one, so I organised to stay the night there, and we had a good night. The next morning, I knew I was still drunk, so I waited. I ate some breakfast. I drank lots of water and coffee. I waited some more. And I kept on waiting. The little breathalyzer thingy we had showed us all slowly sobering up, and people would gradually leave as they got under their threshold BAC level. As I was on my probationary licence again (back on it as I'd previously lost it), again, I had to give a reading of 0.00%. Our breathalyzer finally showed me at zeroes, and still I waited another hour, just to be sure.

It was about 3:30pm when I finally got into the car, and was pulled over literally 500m from my brothers house. 0.064%.None of this meant anything to the court of course. And I guess that's fair enough in it's way, they've heard it all before I'm sure. However, I'm now viewed as a problem drink driver in the eyes of the law which couldn't be further from the truth. I'm definitely a drunkard, but since that first DUI, I NEVER get behind the wheel when I've been drinking (one aberration notwithstanding)

So there goes my licence for a year. Upon getting the licence back, I had to put a breathalyser interlock on the car for another year, which cost me $155 per month for the convenience. All told, the whole expense put me out of pocket about $3500, not including loss of income.

So I have my licence back again now, the interlock has been removed for nearly 9 months and all is good. Except of course, that we DO have a mandatory prison sentence for the 3rd conviction here (within a 10 year period), which means I'm up shiat creek without a paddle if I'm even a tiny bit over at any time in the next 5-6 years. The fact that I'm lumped in the same category as some of these hopeless and reckless drunks is downright insulting.

That said, using the interlock is a wonderful tool in order to learn HOW to drink and drive successfully. You very quickly learn (especially here in Australia where basically every social gathering involves lots of alcohol) how much you can drink of what, and in what time period, and still be under the limit x hours from now. (Just do that carefully, as the logs from the device get sent to the judge when you try to get your licence back - you don't want to be explaining multiple failed readings....)

Wisconsin's drunk driving laws are a joke. Here you don't reach any type of significant lockup until your 5th DUI... which is supposed to be 2 years in prison, but most get their lawyer-on-call to get them out of it. Until the 5th, these jerkoffs get out again and again.... and continue to endanger everyone around them.

The way the state treats drunk driving makes us an embarrassment. We have numerous people hitting the paper for 10th... 12th... 15th DUIs. They continue to drive after their licenses are suspended/revoked. They continue to drink and drive. There is no real deterrent.

I think prison starting with the 3rd is appropriate. If you can't straighten yourself out after getting busted two different times, then all sympathy for you is lost. There needs to be something to stop them before someone ends up dying.

And, sorry to all the "I only had a few beers" or "I was sobering up" people, but you were stopped for some reason. Whether it was speeding, weaving, running a red light or whatever.... you were driving badly. And that probably had to do with your intoxication level. So many people get some booze in them and suddenly feel like they can do nothing wrong. This includes their driving.... they feel like they're the best driver in the world. And because of the ratio of cops vs. drunks on the road, they probably get away with drunk driving for quite a while before getting arrested. The worst judge of how much you can handle drinking is you. After a few beers, you have poor judgement and sense of time.

Sadly, our area has several free ride programs where the bartender will give you a free waiver for a taxi if you are drunk. The taxi services work with the bars to make sure rides are available. And very few people ever use this service. They would rather run the risk of getting arrested, smashing their car or killing someone.

tukatz:And, sorry to all the "I only had a few beers" or "I was sobering up" people, but you were stopped for some reason. Whether it was speeding, weaving, running a red light or whatever.... you were driving badly.

Nope, gotta disagree there. Here in Australia, we have random breath test roadblocks. If you see it, it's too late. They'll either pull you aside or let you go arbitrarily.

I conduct myself as if the limit is 0.00. If the cops want to arrest you, they will. There's nothing to stop a run-of-the-mill idiot from hitting your car and causing the cops to harass you about a legal amount of alcohol anyway. The system does not adequately punish chronic drunk drivers, and the wide net the law has cast has ruined too many decent people who try to follow the law, perhaps not realizing that BAC can be affected by a number of factors and that limiting oneself to one drink per hour does not guarantee compliance. I'm not falling in either one of those groups. I walk.

Asa Phelps:In some states, utah for example, if you have a DWI conviction there is a probationary period - that they don't necessarily tell you about - that requires that if you get pulled over, you can't blow ANY alcohol into the breathalyzer.

I know a guy who got himself a DWI, then 10 months later got pulled over immediately after leaving a bar and blew 0.02, and got himself a 2nd DWI.

I don't have much sympathy for drunk drivers, but it seemed a little excessive to me.

tukatz:A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Had an ex in college who was convicted of drunk driving for the 4th time, sent to one of those weekend work programs (plus having his license revoked). I dropped him off for his first day and he called me an hour later and said he had been kicked out because his BAC was too high. He drank like 7 Guinness' the night before. Dumbass.

That's when the retired General Motors worker will have his name, address and mug shot removed from a website created by the Janesville Police Department that maps city residents who have five or more drunken driving convictions.

tukatz:I'm thinking his "one beer" comment doesn't describe his own drinking habits. A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Wisconsin needs to start locking up at 3rd offense. And claiming their cars for auction to make up some of the outrageous court costs.

This but with blindings, organ harvestings. I'm getting pretty tired of the excuses.

Be thankful you're not in Norway. I don't know exactly what the legal limit is, but I've heard that one glass of wine will put you over the limit. I have literally never met anyone here who has been willing to chance drinking one glass of beer if they had to drive that night.

On the plus side, the public transportation system here is decent, and the cabs are good (and expensive). It's pretty common to see people drinking beer on the bus on their way to a bar /party. And somehow, despite all of the restrictions and despite the ungodly high prices on booze, people still manage to get pretty hammered.

Lsherm:The majority of drunken driving arrests in the state (there were 28,213 convictions in 2011) are first-time offenses, and many of those caught the first time have likely driven dozens of other times while intoxicated, said Nina Emerson, director of the Resource Center on Impaired Driving at UW-Madison.

Oh, I'll take exception to this, because when I was drinking I took extra care to not drive drunk. I saw that TV movie int he 80's that MADD sponsored, and I was paranoid about it. What I didn't understand was that you can still be legally drunk the morning after. So I got pulled over going 70 on I-95 at 10am on a Saturday. I blew a 0.08 on the road, but a 0.01 at the station. I was driving home the morning after a bachelor party for a friend and I specifically got a hotel room in DC so I didn't have to drive home drunk. I found out after my arrest that I didn't have to consent to the roadside breath test at all, only the one at the station, but the police don't explain that to you. It's all money to them.

Thankfully, I hadn't ever had so much as a speeding ticket, so they dropped the charges, but that's crazy rare for Virginia. If my story hadn't checked out - the cop that arrested me smugly told me my BAC was going to go up - I'm sure they would have nailed me.

I don't hit the liquor anymore but I buy all of my friends breathalyzers as presents so they can check themselves. It's a good idea. They don't want to drive drunk, but without a tool to let you know, you can make a mistake. The ignition interlock devices work on the same principle, except they don't offer them to people who want to avoid breaking the law.

I may be mistaken but I think parents can request that they be put in their childs car. If they want to pay for it. I've heard its around 75 buck a month to lease it.

DrPainMD:What's ridiculous is that a person can get into his car, safely drive from Point A to Point B, and be in violation of the law due to an arbitrary level of some substance in his blood.

I am suspicious of breathalyzers. I had ONE 16oz beer... literally one, not "officer, I swear I only had one"... And I blew a point .08 on the dot. I was pulled over for the light over my license plate being out. I'm not very good at maths or chemistyy, but I have no idea how one beer = .08.

How is it possible to attain the age of 54 with such a fondness for alcohol and never figure out a way to drink that doesn't involve driving a car?

SJKebab:tukatz: I'm thinking his "one beer" comment doesn't describe his own drinking habits. A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Wisconsin needs to start locking up at 3rd offense. And claiming their cars for auction to make up some of the outrageous court costs.

Yes and no. The problem with mandatory sentencing is always the same. Mitigating circumstances are never taken into account by definition. As a 2 time DUI convict myself, I have to chip in here.

In my case, my first DUI was as a probationary driver - not allowed to have any alcohol in the system at all. In this case, I was stupid. I'd had about a beer and half, and realised that I was about to run out, so I hopped in the car to pick some more up. Bang, random breath test. Bang, I blew 0.04. I knew I wasn't drunk, but nonetheless I accept full responsibility for this one. I was stupid and I paid the price. I lost my licence for 3 months.

Fast forward 2 years later, and I"m back on the road and all is good. I went to my brothers house to have a drink with him, and I knew it was going to be a big one, so I organised to stay the night there, and we had a good night. The next morning, I knew I was still drunk, so I waited. I ate some breakfast. I drank lots of water and coffee. I waited some more. And I kept on waiting. The little breathalyzer thingy we had showed us all slowly sobering up, and people would gradually leave as they got under their threshold BAC level. As I was on my probationary licence again (back on it as I'd previously lost it), again, I had to give a reading of 0.00%. Our breathalyzer finally showed me at zeroes, and still I waited another hour, just to be sure.

It was about 3:30pm when I finally got into the car, and was pulled over literally 500m from my brothers house. 0.064%.None of this meant anything to the court of course. And I guess that's fair enough in it's way ...

In other words you has issues with drinking and driving and if you do it again you go to jail. I don't see the problem here.

megarian:DrPainMD: What's ridiculous is that a person can get into his car, safely drive from Point A to Point B, and be in violation of the law due to an arbitrary level of some substance in his blood.

I am suspicious of breathalyzers. I had ONE 16oz beer... literally one, not "officer, I swear I only had one"... And I blew a point .08 on the dot. I was pulled over for the light over my license plate being out. I'm not very good at maths or chemistyy, but I have no idea how one beer = .08.

Depends on ABV of said beer and your weight, tolerance, and other factors.

If you really want to piss off the cops pull a U-turn before a roadblock when you are sober. They'll pull two squad cars away from the roadblock just to chase you down and then get nothing on the breath tester.

megarian:DrPainMD: What's ridiculous is that a person can get into his car, safely drive from Point A to Point B, and be in violation of the law due to an arbitrary level of some substance in his blood.

I am suspicious of breathalyzers. I had ONE 16oz beer... literally one, not "officer, I swear I only had one"... And I blew a point .08 on the dot. I was pulled over for the light over my license plate being out. I'm not very good at maths or chemistyy, but I have no idea how one beer = .08.

If you do it too soon after drinking there is probably residual alcohol in your airway that is more concentrated than what would normally be coming from the lungs of somebody who had been drinking, but stopped half an hour ago. Otherwise, I have no idea. Really bad (or no) calibration? Straight up rigging of the device? You completely lack the enzymes necessary to process alcohol? Your blood has some sort of symbiotic yeast living in it that makes you always have alcohol in your system? The world may never know.

Egoy3k:If you really want to piss off the cops pull a U-turn before a roadblock when you are sober. They'll pull two squad cars away from the roadblock just to chase you down and then get nothing on the breath tester.

/I've done this//I was a dumb 16 year old

Then they arrest for an illegal u-turn, reckless driving, and a couple more charges I'm sure I am missing. The point is, you are always breaking the law.

megarian:DrPainMD: What's ridiculous is that a person can get into his car, safely drive from Point A to Point B, and be in violation of the law due to an arbitrary level of some substance in his blood.

I am suspicious of breathalyzers. I had ONE 16oz beer... literally one, not "officer, I swear I only had one"... And I blew a point .08 on the dot. I was pulled over for the light over my license plate being out. I'm not very good at maths or chemistyy, but I have no idea how one beer = .08.

I might be mistaken, but I think the limit is set at .08 because that's the avg BAC of an average sized person having one beer an hour. After having one beer, ideally you should wait an hour for it to metabolize out of you. But, you know, ain't nobody got time for that, so .08 and under is good. When they lower the limits below that, people get up in arms because you can get DUIs for half a beer or even using too much mouthwash in the morning.

Egoy3k:If you really want to piss off the cops pull a U-turn before a roadblock when you are sober. They'll pull two squad cars away from the roadblock just to chase you down and then get nothing on the breath tester.

In December, Peter C. Smith, 29, of Janesville, was arrested on his eighth drunken driving charge after he allegedly ran a red light with his red Chevrolet Beretta. Police say he had a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent.

0.15 will get you an "extreme DUI" in some states (at least in AZ) but I'm more concerned that he would risk running red lights when he had to know he was probably over the limit and already had 7 DUIs.

Running red lights is very dangerous and cars that you collide with when you do so don't care if you are drunk or sober.

NEVER run red lights.

And if you've had a few drinks, do not speed, take extra care to stay in your lane and FFS do not give the cops any reason to pull you over (i.e. make sure all your lights work and your tags are not expired).

/doing field sobriety tests sucks//Yeah, I know many people advise refusing them but that pretty much assures you're going to get at least a roadside breath test if not a trip downtown for an official court-admissible test///never been given a breath test

The guy is right up there with Moody's scolding the US government for irresponsible fiscal practices. They're not wrong, but they're also the last bunch of people who get to make that criticism. Likewise, I agree that "one and out" is dumb, but this guy doesn't get to make that point.

Lsherm:The majority of drunken driving arrests in the state (there were 28,213 convictions in 2011) are first-time offenses, and many of those caught the first time have likely driven dozens of other times while intoxicated, said Nina Emerson, director of the Resource Center on Impaired Driving at UW-Madison.

Oh, I'll take exception to this, because when I was drinking I took extra care to not drive drunk. I saw that TV movie int he 80's that MADD sponsored, and I was paranoid about it. What I didn't understand was that you can still be legally drunk the morning after. So I got pulled over going 70 on I-95 at 10am on a Saturday. I blew a 0.08 on the road, but a 0.01 at the station. I was driving home the morning after a bachelor party for a friend and I specifically got a hotel room in DC so I didn't have to drive home drunk. I found out after my arrest that I didn't have to consent to the roadside breath test at all, only the one at the station, but the police don't explain that to you. It's all money to them.

Thankfully, I hadn't ever had so much as a speeding ticket, so they dropped the charges, but that's crazy rare for Virginia. If my story hadn't checked out - the cop that arrested me smugly told me my BAC was going to go up - I'm sure they would have nailed me.

I don't hit the liquor anymore but I buy all of my friends breathalyzers as presents so they can check themselves. It's a good idea. They don't want to drive drunk, but without a tool to let you know, you can make a mistake. The ignition interlock devices work on the same principle, except they don't offer them to people who want to avoid breaking the law.

Because it's about money and catching you off-guard. Basic fear tactic.

EvilEgg:Egoy3k: If you really want to piss off the cops pull a U-turn before a roadblock when you are sober. They'll pull two squad cars away from the roadblock just to chase you down and then get nothing on the breath tester.

/I've done this//I was a dumb 16 year old

Then they arrest for an illegal u-turn, reckless driving, and a couple more charges I'm sure I am missing. The point is, you are always breaking the law.

Yeah Like I said I was pretty stupid. They did let me go with a warning but they read me the riot act first.

deanis:Depends on ABV of said beer and your weight, tolerance, and other factors.

BAC has nothing to do with tolerance. It's just a measure of how much alcohol is in your blood.Or in the case of breathalyzers, how much is coming out of your mouth in vapor. So they're not accurate. Eating a piece of bread can register on one. Mouthwash can register. You can probably register a .08 just by swishing a sip of whiskey around your mouth and spitting it out first.

tukatz:I'm thinking his "one beer" comment doesn't describe his own drinking habits. A 7th conviction for drunk driving probably equals having beer for breakfast, then working up to more potent stuff throughout the day.

Wisconsin needs to start locking up at 3rd offense. And claiming their cars for auction to make up some of the outrageous court costs.